A Brown Rice Fast

Soothing, calming, and warming, a great fast to perform.

Yes, you can fast on rice! A brown rice fast is actually an ancient practice dating back thousands of
years. While it is a milder form of fasting, it offers
the same benefits all fasting
methods offer and has its own unique advantages.

I first heard of it during a stay at the Kripalu Center for Holistic Health back in 1985. I was taking a month-long
course that was offered as an overview to a variety of holistic and spiritual practices. Among
those was the practice of fasting as an adjunct to Conscious Eating as a life choice and spiritual
discipline. But they didn't just talk about fasting, this was a hands-on course. So, we fasted for
three days.

We (a class of about 25) were given the choice between a brown rice fast and a
fruit fast, specifically, on
oranges. We could have 1-2 cups of rice per meal, 3 meals per day. Or we could eat 1-2 fresh
oranges per meal, for 3 meals per day. Though in both cases we were admonished to try to only
eat the smaller portion if possible.

To help us with this decision we were told that if
we typically felt very grounded in our lives, more heavy and analytical, found it difficult
to dream dreams of fancy, to allow our feet to come up off the ground, we should do the orange
fast, as a fruit fast would aid in lightening us emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Alternatively, if we generally felt light and spacey, ungrounded, felt unconnected, lost and confused,
that a brown rice fast would be more grounding and warming.

Otherwise, we were told, the two fasting
styles would deliver the same benefits. The cleansing and detoxing of accumulated wastes stored in our
bodies would begin. The clarity in our meditations would improve. Our flexibility in our yoga sessions
would improve. All of that proved to be true.

While I chose the orange fruit fast that day, many
in our class chose the brown rice fast. Their experiences were just as wonderful and expansive as those
of us on fruit. Actually, those of us on fruit envied the rice fasters their warm bowls of "solid food"
at mealtime, especially on the colder days.

A brown rice fast can alleviate many digestive troubles

Even slight fasting with brown rice can help with digestive problems. I had a girlfriend with ongoing digestive
pain. Irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, diverticulitis, and ulcers were all considered possible culprits,
but she never allowed the doctor to do all the testing necessary to identify and label, diagnose, the problem.
She felt certain that would become a lengthy, expensive process possibly ending with a still unclear prognosis,
while she knew too, that whatever it was could likely be managed through diet.

What she found helpful
instead, was a one-day brown rice fast. When her symptoms were most acting up, she would eat nothing but brown
rice all day on a Saturday. Just that little bit of effort, just that much rest for her digestive system, was
enough to rebalance her; it was enough to alleviate her most acute symptoms. She always said she felt better
and wished she would rice fast more often.

A brown rice fast is a gentler method of fastingand can be very soothing

A brown rice fast can be more
stabilizing than other types of fasts. Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate, metabolizing and delivering
energy-giving sugars slowly, over time. Fruit, on the other hand, is comprised of simple sugars, more
quickly metabolized, and can lead to highs and lows in some people. But a brown rice fast can feel very
calming and soothing.

Fasting in cold climates or in the winter can be made easier and more
comfortable if done with brown rice, as it is more warming than other types of fasts.

In contrast to a water fast which can cause more
symptoms of discomfort due to its intense detoxifying, a brown rice fast is milder and much more gentle. While you
will detox, and potentially show some symptoms, they will be milder and more comfortable.

There are health professionals who feel it is better to fast in a way that does not produce extreme
symptoms--that the extreme symptoms can indicate a too quick release of toxins into the bloodstream, creating an
intense burden on the body. They suggest using mild fasting methods such as rice and/or
cleansing diets to detox more slowly and gradually.
This would most specifically apply to older and/or more frail individuals.

The many proponents of a brown rice fast

Annemarie Colbin, in her book Food and Healing, reports good results
from a brown rice fast in those coming off of sugar and recreational drugs. She suggests, however, balancing the more
acidic rice with alkaline foods, such as seaweed or miso. This may only be an issue on fasts of longer duration--more
than 5 days.

Also, if one is concerned about acid foods, you can fast on other grains. Quinoa, millet, and buckwheat groats
(not a wheat product) are all considered alkaline foods. It is best not to use wheat due to the prevalence of undiagnosed
wheat and/or gluten allergies, not to mention, Westerners already consume a disproportionate amount of wheat.

The founder of the macrobiotic diet system, George Ohsawa, proposed a strict brown rice diet as a cleansing regimen for
the sick. A later proponent of the macrobiotic diet, Michio Kushi, claimed that a strict brown rice diet conferred spiritual
enlightenment on the adherent. It is interesting to note that brown rice is considered by many Asians to be the "perfect"
food, as they believe it to have a perfect balance of yin and yang energies.

Traditional Ayurveda (the 5,000
year-old art of health and healing) is a proponent of the brown rice fast in the form of the dish called
Kitchari. This type of fast is sometimes called a "kitchari
cleanse", as it is a form of cleansing diet. It combines
mung beans with the most balanced of the rice types: basmati.

Soaking grains for the best nutritional value

Our modern methods of cooking grains are insufficient at making the nutrients
bioavailable to us. The newest research is showing that most grains really should be soaked or fermented
before cooking. This is very similar to the process we use in soaking beans overnight before cooking.

A bit of sea salt on your rice is ok. The
higher the quality of your sea salt, the more this is acceptable. At
Kripalu we were
allowed a bit of gomasio--salted sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are
full of calcium, and thus alkalizing. You can also add a strip of
sea vegetable to your cooking rice or a small amount of miso to
the cooked rice for the same effect.

As a special treat, use a piece of your best fine
china (the stuff you hardly ever get to enjoy) during your fast.

For all fasts:

Preparation - Prepare for a
fast by eating fewer and lighter meals for a couple days prior. The
length of preparation
is based on the intensity and length of your planned fast. The
longer and/or more intense the fast, the more days of preparation you
should make. For a one day fast, you can just eat a light dinner
the night before.

If you drink caffeinated beverages, wean
yourself off prior to your fast to avoid the withdrawal headache.

Water - Drink at least 2 quarts of
water. Fresh
squeezed lemon may be added to your water, as it not only imparts
a bit of flavor, but will contribute beneficial living enzymes.

Activity - Plan for a light workload during a fast. Don't overdo. Moderate exercise is ok, even helpful, but save the more
strenuous workouts for another time. Walking and yoga are particularly well-suited to fasting.

Help your body detox - Take time to do breathing
exercises to help you shed toxins and oxygenate your blood, as well as
dry skin brushing to enhance the body's ability to detox through
both the skin and the lymphatic system.

Rest - Get plenty of rest and allow yourself naps during the day if you ever feel the need.

Tips - Read the Water Fasting Tips page as most
of the information there can be helpful during any type of fast or cleansing diet.

What can be helpful is to add a psyllium cleanse to your daily routine by adding 1-2 tablespoons of psyllium husks to a glass
of water one or two times per day. Or see this colon cleanse
recipe and instructions.

Psyllium is a natural fiber laxative that is
excellent for cleansing the intestines. It is
available in most pharmacies, in the laxative section, or
organically-grown can be found in health food stores. Be sure to
drink plenty of water with psyllium as the package will
tell you.

Breaking the fast - Coming off a fast requires special attention as well. Do so slowly, easing back into regular
foods. See the Guidelines for Breaking a Fast page for more
information.

Again, the length and intensity of the
fast performed will dictate how many days you take to re-acclimate your
body
to regular eating. For a 10-day fast, at least three
days of easing back in is recommended; for a 3-day fast, 1 or 1 1/2
days of transition is good.

After the fast - Pay attention to the subtle signals from your body as they can guide you to the
foods most appropriate for your needs. Check out the Recipe Section of this site for ideas.

Trying to incorporate more whole grain dishes in your diet? See Brown Rice Recipes
for ideas.

If you want a front seat view of Ben Marcus' 6-day water fast, he wrote a wonderful and hilarious article about it for GQ Magazine online. I just found this pearl and want to share it with everyone. I…